A Case for Switching from Oil to Gas Heating in Homes

Castellan Real Estate Partners

With John Salib as managing partner, Castellan Real Estate Partners is a vertically integrated real estate investment firm with business lines devoted to real estate development, property management, and lending. Based in New York City, Castellan Real Estate Partners also acquires and renovates undervalued and neglected buildings. Many of the renovations it performs are focused on improving the energy efficiency of its portfolio properties, including natural gas conversions.

Converting your home heating from oil to gas is energy efficient and more environmentally friendly, since the burning of gas emits substantially less carbon than oil. In addition, gas heating is almost always less expensive than oil heating. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, oil heating has been 30-50 percent more costly than gas heating since 2002.

Most of the homes using oil for heating are located in the northeastern United States. For these residents, two major factors determine whether to make the switch from oil to gas: costs and gas supply.

Unlike oil, which is transported by trucks, gas is delivered through underground pipelines. Residents will first have to confirm that there is a main gas supply line in their neighborhood. If so, utility companies can connect it through underground piping to individual homes. If there isn’t one, then residents will need to come together to petition the utility to install one.

The other consideration is cost. Making the switch to gas can be costly. Residents will have to incur gas piping costs, equipment costs, and home renovation costs if the chimney needs realignment. All these can add up to substantial sums. However, the utility companies often reduce gas piping costs as an incentive to gain more clients, and modern technology has made it possible to install pipes without necessitating significant home renovations. Even if this is not the case in all homes, the energy savings by switching to gas will eventually pay for the initial setup costs over time.